You sit, scientist that you are, upon the hill and look out over the sea...
You notice the waves, you see a yacht - it's sail bellied - as it moves from (say) right to left. You notice also that the grass about you and the very hair upon your head, also lies over from right to left.
How can this be so, you ask yourself. What is it about the grass, that it obeys the yacht, or what can it be about the yacht, that it obeys the grass?
An amiable fellow comes and joins you upon the hill. His name is Professor Higgs. He too has been wondering along the same lines as yourself...he has an idea.
His idea is: The is an unseen force abroad in the world that commands both the grass and the yacht, that orders just how these two separate things behave. It's his idea, so it's called after him.
Back in our 'real' world these same sort of things occur...
1- Please stick with it with this cartoon...
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120501.html
2- A person explains...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/video/2012/jul/03/what-is-a-higgs-boson-video
The plush-carpet explanation, soft, warm and yielding and yet going from wall to wall... (covering it all)
http://www.squidoo.com/higgs-boson-for-dummies